Idea: Disguise

[spawnloser]

My idea, a skill called, you guessed it, "Disguise."  The skill would work simply, possibly, to start...it's a skill you turn on, like, for example, "Listen."  While on, your skill would work as a modifier in som fashion against getting a crim flag or lowering the amount of time you are crim'd.

In tandem with the potential changes that Halaster has mentioned as possibilities, reducing the time the crime would stay on your record.

Discuss.

[Lazloth]

(a.) I'm sure you're aware [like most nifty ideas] this one is resurrected every 6-8 months;
(b.) I'd be unhappy if a disguise ability was implemented for only the "criminal" guilds [not saying that's what you're implying, just by way of discussion].

[Rindan]

I don't think that disguising should be a skill.  Either the soldiers see you and realize that you are wanted or they don't.  There is already a skill that covers this.  It is called sneak.  Sneak should work against aggressive NPCs.  The easiest way to do this is to make it so that if you sneak while hidden, you do not break your hide.  Hell, make it so that you have to make a hide check at every single movement to make it hard.

As to fooling PCs, I wish that you could simply cover your face.  It takes 10 'sid worth of cloth and the intelligence of a half-giant to realize that if you take a strip of sandcloth and wrap it around your face, you suddenly just became damn hard to recognize.  Modern criminals do this all the time in an age of perfect memory cameras without any trouble and get away.  In the world of Zalanthas where you can only rely on your memory, this would be a very effective way of concealing yourself.  For the down side, simply make it if you have a strip of sandcloth wrapped around your face, you are treated automatically as a criminal.

[bloodfromstone]

Sadly, unless main descrips are masked again, people will still see you from the back, wearing a hood and veil, and grab you or point a finger.

[Aldiel]

What about disguises that changed your sdesc in addition to reducing your crime flag.  Different desguises would require more or less skill to apply.  Some might require none.

[Aldiel]

I think this idea has some potential, but it needs to be pounded out into something tangible, realistic, and in-line with present skills.

[spawnloser]

Actually, I was  trying to avoid the normal 'disguise' presentation which is with the sdesc changing.  I'm suggesting something else entirely on purpose.

[Malifaxis]

A 'stock' of perhaps 10 bland sdesc/mdescs could be made for each race.  When disguise is activated, it could randomly pick and choose one of 10 and 'overwrite' it temporarily to your character file.  Duration dependent upon amount of success/skill level.

[LauraMars]

A 'stock' of perhaps 10 bland sdesc/mdescs could be made for each race.  When disguise is activated, it could randomly pick and choose one of 10 and 'overwrite' it temporarily to your character file.  Duration dependent upon amount of success/skill level.

So the obese, sweating man can become the thin, black-haired man?  There's too many variables on the player end of things...I don't think it would work.

Perhaps, if we were to continue along this line of thinking, a small client could be implemented in which you could write a disguise that wouldn't conflict with your current description.  So the obese, sweating man (I don't know what a guy like him is doing getting into trouble, but he is) could become the mohawked, portly man.

Typing "disguise" (provided you have the skill) would take your newly written desc and port it over your current mdesc and sdesc for a skill-determined length of time.

If we wanted to get even more complicated, with increase of skill comes the ability to create more disguises.

The problems there are, of course, potential for abuse, and more work for the imms.

I don't really like the idea I just typed out.  It's far too baroque.  Let's just have masks scramble mdescs to a certain extent, bwah.

[Aldiel]

Responding to LauraMars, no, but I think we could see something vague like, "the masked, black-haired man" from a black-wig and half-mask costume.  Also, spawn, I'm interested to understand how you can disguise yourself without a costume?  Even if it's just makeup.  What do you mean exactly?

[Desertman]

Hoods anyone? Aside from being able to rp having a nifty disguise...code wise this seems to work the same way as a hood does now. Technically with a hood up around your face most people shouldnt be able to read your ldesc and say..."He had brown hair with beads and bright green eyes!".....When you wear your disguise....most people will still read your ldesc and try and report you that way. I know they shouldnt most likely...but I learned long ago that how the gameworld was intended to be and how it is...are not always the same thing. All in all I like the idea and it would be neat, I think it would take alot of coding or a whole lot of trust to get it to function properly the way it is intended.

[Cuusardo]

I do kind of like the idea of a disguise skill.  If you're wanted by the militia, they know it's you regardless of your having a hood up, or wearing a wig, or a facewrap.

I also like the idea of bards having a disguise skill, especially Tuluki Circle bards.  They know a great deal about costumes and makeup, and things like that due to the Arc of Acting.

[spawnloser]

I'm not suggesting that it not require materials of some sort...in fact, that'd be cool.  If it affects sdescs (picking from a few stock for weight/height matches), that'd be cool.  If it affected the mdesc by overwriting with a matching stock mdesc, cooler still.  I'm just contemplating a coded affect it could have, like the possibilities I listed above: affect chances of becoming wanted, reducing duration of being wanted, and reducing duration it would stay on your extended 'criminal record' when/if such a thing being be introduced.  Maybe the disguise is enacted and has a duration like 'listen.'  You have a chance to succesfully disguise yourself.  If you succeed, you are disguised for some amount of time dependant on skill and the normal random chance.  Have some things, maybe combat, remove disguise automatically.  I'm just brainstorming here, anyone else?

[jhunter]

I want something like this sooooooo bad.

[Rindan]

Personally, I think disguises that actually change you desc are kind of cartoonish.  I really don't think that throwing on a wig and having people seriously not be able to recognize who you are is silly.  Short of employing some serious cosmetics, it is pretty damn hard to have disguise that holds up to even the most casual observation by someone who knows you.  If breaking a disguise is as simple as looking that the person, the only thing you have really done is hide the sdesc with a new sdesc.  This can already be done with a hood.

Further, "disguise" is already in the game.  We call it sneak.  If you are sneaking down Caravan road in Allanak, it probably means that your elf has hunched over and dropped in with a group of people headed towards the market.  He is "disguised" such that people will not take notice of him.  The only problem with sneak is that it is broken against aggressive NPCs.  Instead of throwing a new skill into the game to do what sneak should do, I would much rather just see sneak fixed.  Throw in the ability to tie a bandana over your face and cover up your sdesc and mdesc, but set you crime flagged if spotted, and I think you have a winning combination that remains true to the theme.

[jmordetsky]

I don't like the idea of changing mdesc or sdesc.

I do like the idea of a listen like skill that helps reduce crim-flag likely-hood or length.

I love the idea of this being attached to items like face wraps, hoods etc.

So like:

>disguise on
You do not have the proper items to disguise

>wear facewrap

>disguise on
You attempt to mask you features.

And then in the event of incrimination, you have a % chance based on hide and sneak of lowering the duration which you will be remembered by authorities.

I dig it.

[spawnloser]

I can dig J's idea.